Croft Axsen recently had to inform a client wanting to buy a $300,000 house that he didn’t qualify, so the client instead decided to buy a $95,000 truck. According to Axsen, it is but one example of how easily credit debt can accrue, and how it’s more detrimental to Canadian households than mortgage debt. “I […]

This morning, Stats Canada released the second quarter GDP figures indicating a sharp rebound in growth to its most robust pace in a year. Real gross domestic product growth accelerated to 2.9% (all figures quoted in annual rates), up sharply from the 1.4% pace in Q1. The Q2 result is only slightly above the Bank […]

Statistics Canada announced this morning that employment increased in July and the jobless rate fell .2 percentage points to 5.8%–returning to its lowest level since the 1970s posted earlier this year. The economy added a stronger-than-expected 54,100 net new jobs last month–its most significant advance this year. This gain, however, was driven by increases in […]

The CMHC wants the Canadian Revenue Agency to provide more robust verification of incomes stated on mortgage applications. The call comes following an investigation by the CMHC into the correlation between incomes stated on mortgage applications and those reported to the CRA. It now wants the tax agency to take a “more direct and formal […]

OTTAWA _ The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday in an economy that it predicts will remain resilient even as it faces an even bigger bite from deepening trade tensions. The rate hike was the central bank’s first interest rate move in six months and lifted the trend-setting rate to 1.5 per […]

There appears to be little relief in sight for Canadian homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, as affordability is likely to worsen. A report published Tuesday by RBC Economics says that rising interest rates took a bite out of housing affordability in the first quarter of 2018 and things are not looking brighter for the near future. […]

Fresh economic numbers from Statistics Canada pointed to a sustained acceleration to beyond 2% growth in Q2 2018 – a necessary condition for the Bank of Canada to proceed with interest rate hikes in the second half of this year, according to a markets observer. “We’ve passed the first of three hurdles remaining for the […]

The Bank of Canada will meet to decide on its latest move on interest rates next week and many are expecting an increase. But once July’s hike is done, things become less clear as the economy is showing some mixed signals. Two economists from Canada’s big banks have given their assessment of the likelihood of […]

The prospect of a rise in interest rates by the Bank of Canada in July remains but recent data releases suggest Governor Poloz may not be in a hurry to act. An assessment by TD Economics senior economist Brian DePratto points to some disappointing data releases from last week and the potential for more uneasy […]

OTTAWA _ A pair of unexpectedly soft economic reports are creating fresh doubts about the timing of the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate hike. For months, experts have been predicting Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz to raise his benchmark rate at next month’s meeting. But broadening economic unknowns _ mostly linked to trade […]